Travel, food and beauty

A tourist guide to Copenhagen

So this post was quite a fun one for me to make since I got to think about being a tourist in my own city! But as you will find during this post, I don’t really have a lot of pictures from Copenhagen… And the ones I do have are mainly of food – very typically me!

If you are coming to Denmark as a tourist chance is you’ll go to Copenhagen since, after all, it is the capital. Now just to start this off I’m going to tell you a few possibly useful or fun facts about Denmark:

Denmark has the oldest flag in the world and we like it a lot, we use it for birthdays and any other celebrations.

Denmark is pretty small and could fit into the US 228 times, also only about 6 million people live in all of Denmark, 2 million of those live in Copenhagen.

Denmark is a very flat country, the tallest spot in Denmark is actually the top of a bridge which is 254 meter (833 feet) tall.

Oh and we speak Danish in Denmark, not dutch and to answer a question I once got: No Denmark is not the capital of Ikea…

In my opinion, Copenhagen is a very beautiful city, there are no skyscrapers in Copenhagen and so the skyline is pretty different from what you see in most capital cities. The picture below is from Nyhavn, and it is actually my first recommendation for ANYONE visiting Copenhagen!

Picture source: Pinterest

Nyhavn:

Nyhavn is a beautiful, old harbor in Copenhagen, known for the many colorful houses that you can also see on the picture. All the houses have restaurants and bars on the ground level, where you can sit with a beautiful view and eat, among other things, great and fresh seafood. All year around Nyhavn is also where boat tours, of the city on the canals, start. Tickets are cheap, you get to see a lot, most of them are covered, you can bring food and drinks on the boat and have a little picnic while seeing the city. It’s perfect for anyone really and all of the commentaries are in English, so check out the schedules here. If you do however visit Denmark around Christmas time, there is also a Christmas market going on along the water in Nyhavn, where they sell all kinds of Christmas decorations, snacks, and Gløgg a warm wine drink, very similar to the German Gluewine.

If you’re looking for a great place to get some cake and coffee to bring on the boat tour, or if like me you just always love a good cake-break, then I suggest going to Lagkage huset! Lagkage huset is an amazing bakery, they have shops in several places and there strawberry cake (which also comes in a handy one person size) is simply heavenly!

Rundetårn:

Directly translated “Rundetårn” means “The round tower” and it fits the name. The tower is actually the clock tower of a church, but that is not why it is famous. There are no stairs inside, the whole way up is as a slide or chute, because the king who had it build (Christian the 4th) wanted to be able to ride his horse all the way to the top when he visited his close friend Tycho Brahe, who was an astronomer who had his observatory at the top of the tower. Today you can walk all the way up, or run if you’re into that, but I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s pretty tough, and when you’ve made it to the top, you will have a beautiful view of the entire city – on clear days you can even see Sweden! I know that from the street it doesn’t look that tall, but remember that there are no skyscrapers in Copenhagen so you really do have a great view from this not so tall tower!

Entrance is 25 dkk (3.9$ / 3.35€) for an adult and 5 dkk (0.7$ / 0.6€) for kids up to 15 years.

Photosource: Molon.de

Rosenborg slot:

Denmark is known for its castles, at least that’s what I’ve heard, and there is a good reason for this since we have a bunch. This one, Rosenborg slot (Slot means castle) is pretty close to The Round Tower, so if you’re already there, I suggest paying the castle a visit as well! Outside of the castle, there is a beautiful garden, and during summertime it will be full of people enjoying the sun, playing games, reading or just relaxing, so if you’re in the mood for a picnic this is the perfect place. The castle isn’t one of the biggest but it is pretty spectacular since it’s been turned into a museum, meaning that no one lives here (Yes, the royal family or dukes do live in most of the Danish castles, which I realize seems strange, but we’re used to it here). Rosenborg is also where the crown jewels of Denmark are kept, they are in the basement and it’s pretty neat, however, sometimes some of the jewels might be missing – that’s because the queen and our crown princess can use the jewels if they want to. This picture is from when I took my American host brother to the castle, as you can tell he is really excited, but that might have to do with the giant ice cream we just had.

Tivoli:

If you are someone who likes to have fun, this recommendation is for you! Tivoli is an old amusement right on the other side of the central station of Copenhagen, which means it’s really easy to get to. There isn’t just a bunch of fun rides, booths to try, good restaurants, delicious snacks (both healthy and unhealthy) the scenery is also gorgeous, there are lakes and beautiful flower arrangments, plus if you are visiting during a holiday (Christmas/Halloween) there will be decorations everywhere which is quite special.

Picture source: Secretescapes.com

Den lille havfrue / The Little Mermaid:

So I realize that a lot of people coming to Denmark wants to see her and I’m not saying don’t go, I’m just saying she is called “The little” for a reason, she is tiny!! The boat tours from Nyhavn that I mentioned earlier, they go by her and I think that is the perfect way to see her! But of course, if it’s something you really want to do, you should go out there, the walk along the water front is beautiful and it’s a nice area in general, plus you will be close to some other things that I really do think you should visit! Now last time I had someone visit me and I took them to see her, they asked me “Why is there even a statue of her here?” And if any of you are wondering the same thing, I’ll just give you the answer right now – it’s because the author of “The Little Mermaid” is actually Danish, his name was Hans Christian Andersen and you probably know several of his fairytales, without even realizing – The Disney movie Frozen is also based on one of his stories, so there you go 🙂

Amalienborg:

Now if you decided to go see The Little Mermaid, on your way out there you will come by Amalienborg, which is a white castle with 4 identical buildings and it is where our queen stays most of the time. There isn’t much to see here, but if you are already passing by, you might as well just go look, you might even be able to spot some Danish royals if you know what they look like that is! I’ll give you 2 little tips to spot a royal if the flag is raised on top of one of the buildings, it means that somebody is staying there right now, and if you see a car with just a crown and a number on the license plate – that’s a royal car.

Photo source: Visitcopenhagen.com

Obviously there is a lot more to see in Copenhagen, including our biggest shopping street called Strøget, but I think these are the most important touristy things to see. Let me know if you have any questions about Denmark or Copenhagen or if you’ve ever been here to visit!

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Published by allaroundthegoods

Hey I am Anne, I'm 21 years old and from Denmark the home of "Hygge".
I love traveling,beauty, good food and writting so I've combined all of that here!
I'm so happy you've decided to visit, you can always send me an email at allaroundthegoods@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram at annefledelius15.
Lots of love,
Anne
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